LETTER | Recently there have been several comments by ministers and other officials of the coalition that the civil service, police and armed forces’ personnel should support BN in the forthcoming general election. This has generated a lot of flak in the alternative media, Facebook, WhatsApp groups, et cetera.

I served under our first three prime ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak Hussein and Hussein Onn, as our nation’s first local chief of navy for just over nine years. I never experienced pressure ever being exerted over civil servants, police or the armed forces by our superiors or politicians to vote for the incumbent government.

I joined the Royal Malayan Navy in May 1955 when it was a British entity before our independence. I was trained and brought up to be loyal to king and country and serve the government of the day.

I served in the Royal Malayan/Malaysian Navy during both the first and second Malayan Emergencies and the Indonesian Confrontation.

It does not matter which party wins and forms the government of the day, we always owe our allegiance to king and country and only serve the government entrusted to manage the country’s affairs.

Whichever party runs the country as the government, it is obliged to pay their salaries and look after the welfare and interests of the civil service, police and the armed forces. This is standard practice in any democracy.

No voter should be coerced to vote by their superiors or politicians, whether government or opposition, under veiled threats or pressures.

A voter has the absolute and inalienable right to vote as he or she pleases. Voting is secret and therefore no one should be afraid to vote as he or she chooses.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.